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Delegates back work group to align early childhood behavioral-health services with CMS EPSDT guidance
Summary
House Bill 1083 would create an MDH work group to study and implement changes so young children can access behavioral health services without requiring an early formal diagnosis, aligning Maryland with recent CMS guidance; clinicians and advocates said the diagnostic requirement can delay or mislabel care for children under five.
Delegate Jamila Woods asked the committee to create a Maryland Department of Health work group under House Bill 1083 to review and implement changes that would align Maryland Medicaid policy with federal Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) guidance for behavioral health services to young children.
Testifying clinicians and child‑behavioral‑health advocates said current state practice frequently requires a formal diagnosis, sometimes within three sessions, before Medicaid will reimburse behavioral‑health services for young children. They said the requirement can be premature and that symptoms in infants and toddlers commonly reflect a mix of trauma, medical and environmental causes rather than a single diagnosable condition.
Dr. Joyce Harrison, a child psychiatrist, and advocacy groups said the federal CMS guidance advises states to avoid requiring a diagnosis as a precondition for services for very young children and recommended use of age‑appropriate screening and intervention models. Witnesses said the work group should include pediatric and infant‑mental‑health clinical expertise and family representation to design developmentally appropriate access pathways and consider alternatives such as the DC:0–5 diagnostic framework.
Ending — The sponsor and several witnesses told the committee they were working with the Department of Health and expected narrowly tailored amendments; no committee vote occurred at the hearing.
